Tag: UFC 272

Jorge Masvidal plots UFC rematch with Colby Covington: ‘I’m going to f*cking murder him in the cage, legally’

Jorge Masvidal plots to murder Colby Covington a future UFC rematchFormer two-time UFC welterweight title challenger, Jorge Masvidal has plans to secure a future rematch with bitter-rival, former interim champion, Colby Covington. And claimed he hopes to “murder” the Clovis native during a fight under the promotion’s banner. Masvidal, the current #11 ranked welterweight contender, slumped to his third consecutive loss back in March of […]

Jorge Masvidal plots to murder Colby Covington a future UFC rematch

Former two-time UFC welterweight title challenger, Jorge Masvidal has plans to secure a future rematch with bitter-rival, former interim champion, Colby Covington. And claimed he hopes to “murder” the Clovis native during a fight under the promotion’s banner.

Masvidal, the current #11 ranked welterweight contender, slumped to his third consecutive loss back in March of last year at UFC 272 against former American Top Team training partner, Covington, dropping a one-sided unanimous decision loss to the outspoken contender.

The defeat came off the back of a pair of championship defeats to former gold holder, Kamaru Usman – the second one courtesy of a brutal second round one-punch KO back in April 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida.

The Miami native is slated to return to the Octagon next month, co-headlining UFC 287 against one-time welterweight title chaser, Gilbert Burns – with the duo attempting to fight back to a title affair against undisputed titleholder, Leon Edwards. 

However, the aforenoted, Covington has been tipped to challenge Edwards for the undisputed welterweight crown as soon as this summer by UFC president, Dana White.

Jorge Masvidal vows to earn future rematch with arch-rival, Colby Covington

Sharing his thoughts on his judging loss to the Clovis native last year, Masvidal stressed that he could produce a better showing from himself in a rematch with Covington – and claimed that he wanted to “murder” the latter, after an infamous outside-the-cage run-in between the two in the weeks following UFC 272

“I wanted to f*cking kill him (Colby Covington),” Jorge Masvidal said during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience. “But it wasn’t the best version of me [at UFC 272]. It just wasn’t the best version of me and in this sport – that’s what I love about it, what happened, happened, and everything else is bullsh*t. So until we fight again, nobody will get to see that better version of me. But I promise you Joe (Rogan), before I close this chapter in my life – in MMA, I will have completed against this guy (again) and I’m going to f*cking take his soul, bro.”

“I promise you, before my career’s over, I’m going to f*cking murder Colby – in the cage, legally,” Jorge Masvidal continued. 

Before his 2020 decision loss to Usman on ‘Fight Island’, Masvidal had embarked on a trio of impressive victories over organizational veterans, Darren Till, Ben Askren, and Nate Diaz – the most recent of which in November 2019.

Renato Moicano Told Corner Not To Stop RDA Fight At UFC 272

UFC lightweight Renato Moicano has revealed that he told his corner not to stop his UFC 272 co-main event fight against Rafael dos Anjos. At this month’s pay-per-view, Moicano earned the respect of the masses by going 25 minutes with former champion dos Anjos on just four days’ notice. The Brazilian’s opportunity arose when Rafael…

Continue Reading Renato Moicano Told Corner Not To Stop RDA Fight At UFC 272 at MMA News.

UFC lightweight Renato Moicano has revealed that he told his corner not to stop his UFC 272 co-main event fight against Rafael dos Anjos.

At this month’s pay-per-view, Moicano earned the respect of the masses by going 25 minutes with former champion dos Anjos on just four days’ notice. The Brazilian’s opportunity arose when Rafael Fiziev tested positive for COVID-19 at the start of fight week.

Despite having some luck on the feet, Moicano was ultimately heavily beaten, both on the scorecards and physically. The tole on his body appeared so bad that many, including ‘RDA’ himself, believe the fight shouldn’t have seen the later rounds.

Despite making it to the judges’ scorecards, some believe the decision to allow Moicano to fight beyond the third frame was irresponsible on the part of referee Marc Goddard, the cageside doctor, and the Brazilian’s American Top Team corner.

That sentiment certainly wasn’t shared by Moicano, who suggested the opportunity to continue allowed him to show what he’s made of.

Nevertheless, Moicano admitted he wouldn’t have been annoyed had cornerman Marcos DaMatta thrown in the towel, as color commentator Michael Bisping suggested he should have.

“The fifth round was my best round because I was already tired and the ref asked me if the fight kept going like that, he would stop it,” Moicano explained. “I knew I had to give everything I had and gave all my energy to knock him out and I showed a lot of heart. They could not take this from me. It was good for me because I took the fight on such short notice (that) if they stopped it, I would’ve been really upset.

“The cornerman has to know their fighters and the corner asked me if I was in the fight, and I said yes, I still wanted to fight. They told me to go out there and try to win and that is what I did. If I said I wasn’t ready or I’m done, he would’ve stopped it, but I told him I’m still in the fight. But, if he decided to throw the towel, I’m not going to be mad because he cares about me.” (h/t BJPenn.com)

Moicano: UFC Turned Down 3-Round Request

With the clash between ‘RDA’ and Fiziev originally being slated for a UFC Fight Night headliner in February, it had been kept as five rounds after being delayed to UFC 272. Despite the late call-up for Moicano, the co-main remained set for 25 minutes.

It turns out that was in spite of a request from Moicano’s team. The Brasilia native confirmed to BJPenn.com that a pursuit of a three-round bout failed during negotiations with the promotion.

“I asked for it to be three rounds and that’s what we wanted, but at the end of the day, I knew they wanted it to be five rounds,” Moicano said. “With that, I was willing to take the chance because he is a big name, a former champion, and a top contender.”

Having taken the fight with the five-round stipulation attached, Moicano says he knew his conditioning would prove to be an issue if dos Anjos managed to impose a wrestling attack.

Once that happened, Moicano says he anticipated a long night.

“I was a little bit worried as I knew I couldn’t wrestle as going into the fight, I was focused on striking all five rounds as I didn’t have the energy to take him down,” Moicano added about his cardio. “If I missed a shot, I would be exhausted. I did what I could with what I had. It was a mental game for me as I knew I couldn’t put a high pace or get takedowns or grapple.

“After he got the first takedown, I thought, ‘Man, this is going to be a long night,’” Moicano said. “In the back of my head, I thought he would shoot for the takedown but I didn’t know for sure. When I hit him and he took me down, I thought this would be hard because I didn’t have enough training to prepare for his wrestling.”

Do you think the UFC 272 co-main event should have been stopped?

Continue Reading Renato Moicano Told Corner Not To Stop RDA Fight At UFC 272 at MMA News.

Askren Slams Masvidal For UFC 272: You Had 25 Mins To Do Something

Former UFC, Bellator, and ONE welterweight Ben Askren has criticized Jorge Masvidal’s conduct following his loss to Colby Covington at UFC 272. At last weekend’s pay-per-view, one of the promotion’s long-awaited grudge matches took center stage. As former teammates, roommates, and friends, and now bitter rivals, the lead-up to the Las Vegas held event was…

Continue Reading Askren Slams Masvidal For UFC 272: You Had 25 Mins To Do Something at MMA News.

Former UFC, Bellator, and ONE welterweight Ben Askren has criticized Jorge Masvidal’s conduct following his loss to Colby Covington at UFC 272.

At last weekend’s pay-per-view, one of the promotion’s long-awaited grudge matches took center stage. As former teammates, roommates, and friends, and now bitter rivals, the lead-up to the Las Vegas held event was always going to be a fiery affair.

That certainly turned out to be true, with a host of insults and jibes flying back and forth during fight week, at the press conference, and even during the five-round contest.

After 25 minutes of action, Covington, who had dominated much of the contest, was awarded a comfortable unanimous decision victory.

While “Chaos” had put his previous feud versus reigning welterweight king Kamaru Usman to bed following their fight last November with a show of respect, that certainly wasn’t the case at UFC 272.

After the final horn, security had to swarm the cage as the pair continued their exchanges. That certainly confused Askren, a former opponent of Masvidal, who questioned why “Gamebred” searched for a scrap after having 25 minutes to do what he wanted to Covington.

“It was kinda what we expected. The thing that I get annoyed about is Jorge wants to fight him after the fight, and it’s like, listen, you just had 25 minutes to do almost anything you want,” Askren pointed out during an appearance on The MMA Hour. “You can’t eye gauge and bite, you know, we’ve got a couple rules, but not a lot. So you could do whatever you wanted for 25 minutes, and now you’re gonna act like you want more? Hey, you had 25 minutes, freakin’ do it to him.”

UFC 272 Wasn’t The Only Criticism Askren Sent Masvidal’s Way…

While Masvidal’s defeat and post-fight antics drew the brunt of Askren’s criticism, “Funky” left some in the tank for later.

This time, the focus was on a new piece of ink Masvidal debuted during fight week. The tattoo is of the Miami native’s infamous flying knee knockout of Askren back in 2019. The KO, which remains the fastest in UFC history, is arguably what truly shot Masvidal into stardom.

Discussing the tattoo he had a part in laying the foundations for, Askren branded Masvidal’s latest ink as “terrible.”

“Ha, it’s terrible. Like, oh, God. It just looks like crap,” said Askren. “That’s something a teenager gets and you’re like, ‘Oh shit, I thought that was gonna look a lot better. I thought this was gonna be really badass, but it looks kinda dopey.’ You’d think (because) he’s rich, he could go get the best tattoo artist in the place.”

Askren also pointed out that Masvidal’s decision to immortalize the moment on his body perhaps signifies how important it was in taking his career to the next level.

“I think it’s semi-telling how important that singular moment was to his career, and he knows it,” claimed Askren. “And he tattooed it on his body because it was that important to him.”

Do you agree with Ben Askren’s takes on Jorge Masvidal’s post-fight attitude at UFC 272 and new piece of ink?

Continue Reading Askren Slams Masvidal For UFC 272: You Had 25 Mins To Do Something at MMA News.

Greg Hardy Appears To Announce UFC Release Following UFC 272 Loss

It appears that UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy’s time with the promotion may be coming to a close based on a recent social media post. Hardy is coming off of a disappointing loss to Serghei Spivac at UFC 272, losing via first-round submission. Hardy has now lost three in a row after impressive wins over the…

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It appears that UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy’s time with the promotion may be coming to a close based on a recent social media post.

Hardy is coming off of a disappointing loss to Serghei Spivac at UFC 272, losing via first-round submission. Hardy has now lost three in a row after impressive wins over the likes of Maurice Greene and Yorgan De Castro.

Hardy has had his fair share of ups and downs in the UFC, making the full-time move to MMA following a tumultuous end to his career in professional football. But Hardy appears to be turning the page to the next chapter of his athletic career, and it may not be in the UFC.

In a recent Instagram post, Hardy appeared to say his goodbyes to UFC fans and hinted at a departure from the top MMA promotion.

“What a run,” Hardy said. “Ya boy is far from done just got some fine tuning to do. Thank you to all my fans and haters. I appreciate you all. Mostly i appreciate my coaches, family, and the @ufc for giving me the opportunity to shine bright.” (h/t Bloody Elbow)

The UFC hasn’t officially announced anything regarding Hardy’s status with the promotion and it’s not yet clear what Hardy’s next move will be. Despite the loss to Spivac, Hardy sounded optimistic about his UFC future immediately following UFC 272.

Hardy made his UFC debut back in January 2019 after throwing an illegal knee against Allen Crowder. He would rebound in a big way with TKO finishes over Dmitry Smolyakov and Juan Adams.

Hardy garnered the attention of UFC President Dana White after a pair of impressive wins on Dana White’s Contender Series. He also competed on the regional scene leading up to his shot on DWCS in brief stints with LFA and Rite of Passage.

Hardy has accumulated a 7-5 record in the cage since making the move to MMA.

What do you think is next for Greg Hardy and his MMA career?

Continue Reading Greg Hardy Appears To Announce UFC Release Following UFC 272 Loss at MMA News.

Colby Covington Responds to Jorge Masvidal’s Claims of Cheating at UFC 272

colby covingtonColby Covington imposed his will over rival Jorge Masvidal for a dominant victory last week at UFC 272. After months of trash talk leading up to the event, the All-American wrestler won the bragging rights to end the bitter dispute. While the fight itself was a comfortable affair for the #1 contender, Masvidal shared a […]

colby covington

Colby Covington imposed his will over rival Jorge Masvidal for a dominant victory last week at UFC 272.

After months of trash talk leading up to the event, the All-American wrestler won the bragging rights to end the bitter dispute. While the fight itself was a comfortable affair for the #1 contender, Masvidal shared a photo of his right eye to show the damage that had been done from an eye poke by Covington.

Masvidal accused Covington of cheating in their fight and also expressed disappointment with referee Herb Dean. He believes Dean should’ve intervened in the first round to give him enough time to recover after the eye poke.

Now, Covington has responded to Masvidal’s claims of cheating with a story posted on his Instagram that features the same photo Masvidal uploaded with a crying emoji and the song “Cry Me A River” by Justin Timberlake.

He didn’t stop there as he continued to mock the seasoned veteran with another post reading “Flawless Victory ????? Bow down to the KING ??? #ufc272“.

Covington has uploaded multiple images of the performance, tagging Masvidal to rub salt in the wounds of the BMF title-holder.

What’s next for Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal?

It’s unclear what’s next in store for Covington, who’s the #1 ranked contender at welterweight. After being defeated by champion Kamaru Usman twice, the top contender looks doubtful about getting a third fight before dispatching some new competition.

Although he called out Dustin Poirier in the post-fight interview, it seems unlikely that he’ll get the fight given that Poirier is a lightweight and has made his feelings clear about never fighting Covington in the UFC.

There has been speculation of a title-shot fight between Covington and the winner of the upcoming bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns.

Masvidal didn’t drop any hints about his next opponent after the fight as he said he’d follow the advice of his coaches.

UFC 272 marked the third straight loss for Gamebred, who was also coming off two losses to welterweight champion and undisputed pound-for-pound #1 Kamaru Usman. Having been soundly beaten by Colby Covington takes away the possibility of an immediate rematch.

He is still the second biggest draw in the sport and the third-highest paid fighter on the roster so a Nate Diaz re-match or a Conor McGregor super fight could be on the horizon.

Who do you want to see Colby Covington fight next?

EXCLUSIVE | Michael Bisping Defends Doctor In RDA-Moicano Non-Stoppage

Michael BispingFormer UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping has defended the Octagon-side doctor’s decision to allow Renato Moicano to continue despite a nasty cut surrounding his eye at UFC 272 last weekend against Rafael dos Anjos, but maintains the former’s corner should have saved the lightweight contender from further punishment. Replacing a COVID-19 stricken Rafael Fiziev on […]

Michael Bisping

Former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping has defended the Octagon-side doctor’s decision to allow Renato Moicano to continue despite a nasty cut surrounding his eye at UFC 272 last weekend against Rafael dos Anjos, but maintains the former’s corner should have saved the lightweight contender from further punishment.

Replacing a COVID-19 stricken Rafael Fiziev on just four days notice last week, Moicano travelled from his native Brazil to tackle former undisputed lightweight champion, dos Anjos in a five round, 160lb catchweight bout – co-headlining UFC 272. 

From the second round onward, however, Moicano’s pace began to falter as dos Anjos imposed a wrestling and grappling-heavy gameplan, as well as scoring a notable left high kick in the third round, wobbling and eventually dropping his compatriot. 

Michael Bisping suffered a well-documented eye injury in his 2013 clash with Vitor Belfort

Allowed to continue until the final buzzer despite multiple warnings from referee, Marc Goddard – Moicano was also assessed by an Octagon-side physician, who elected that the lightweight was fit to continue, despite notable cuts surrounding his eye.

In the aftermath, the on-duty doctor received some notable criticizm for his decision to allow Moicano to continue into the fifth round despite the visible damage to his face, however, the aforenoted, Bisping defended the physician – and echoed his disappointment with Moicano’s corner for allowing him to continue rather than throwing in the towel.

“Neither you nor I am medically trained, you know what I mean,” Michael Bisping told LowKick MMA reporter, Jordan Ellis, during a recent interview to promote his documentary, This Is Michael Bisping. “So while the fighters – well, while (Renato) Moicano, specifically – it looks bad on the outside, you know what I mean. But it always does. They’re covered in blood, you clean it up and there’s a little nick there. Our heart rate is going up so it’s all pumping – and yes, that (Moicano’s eye) was swollen shut, and it certainly looked nasty.”

“I called for his (Moicano’s) corner to stop the fight, but he’s (the doctor) a medically trained professional, that has been around the fight game for a long time. He’s under no pressure from the UFC for the fights to continue. He knows, whether or not – he’s done it many times. Many, many times has he said, ‘Nah, I’ve gotta stop this fight’. You hear about it. On that occasion, he allowed the fight to continue. It’s not his fight to say, is he gonna win this fight, or is he gonna lose this fight? That’s his cornermen or the fighter in question. That’s their job to say, you’re never going to win this fight, so we might as well stop this now. …”